| Author (Person) | Penkova, Tomislava |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) |
| Series Title | ISPI Analysis |
| Series Details | No.150, January 2013 |
| Publication Date | 23/01/2013 |
| Content Type | Journal | Series | Blog |
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In 2010 President Yanukovich declared that Ukraine would be a “bridge between the West and Russia”. His first official visit abroad was to Brussels stressing Ukraine’s European choice while his first significant foreign policy act was the signing of Kharkiv accords with Russia. Those two moves seemed to balance each other in the spirit of the bridge metaphor. Today the bridge image is forgotten. Yanukovich’s main goal for the last years has been to consolidate his grip on power whereas foreign policy featured less prominently among his priorities. This is so because the EU cannot offer the country a membership prospect any time soon while, on the other hand, Ukraine wants to be independent from Russia’s regional integration policies. Yet Yanukovich’s domestic politics became the stumbling block in relations with both Brussels and Moscow. Kyiv does not have a strategy on how to cope with this situation and any foreign policy decision may affect the domestic power balance. |
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| Source Link | http://www.ispionline.it/it/pubblicazione/eu-or-russia-ukraines-recurrent-nonintegration-dilemma |
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| Countries / Regions | Europe, Russia, Southeastern Europe, Ukraine |
